Custom Patches
My husband and I own a group of cabins in the mountains that we rent as vacation accommodation. It’s kind of like a hotel since we have a reception desk and a gift shop, but each cabin is independent and private on the grounds and they really are a great romantic or family getaway. Our place is close to ski resorts and year-round mountain activities, as well as a nearby tourist town with great little shops and restaurants.
A couple of years ago we decided that we wanted to try to market our cabins as a destination in and of themselves, so we needed to come up with some kind of branding that would set us apart from other lodgings in the area. We had a great name with a cute logo, so we figured that would definitely help. From there, we decided to get some merchandise with our name and logo and sell it in the gift shop. We thought that maybe later on we could see if other gift shops in town would want to sell our items as well, so we tried to think of typical tourist merchandise that people would like. We came up with magnets, fleece sweatshirts, hats and custom patches.
This ended up being a really great idea and definitely increased the popularity of our cabins. Using promotional merchandise with our name and logo really made our property a destination that people talked about and wanted to visit. The magnets and custom patches were a huge hit right away, and the sweatshirts and hats weren’t far behind. I had a great time designing the custom patches and other merchandise and I love what it has done for business!